Adventures for All

Rise Energy Foods, Tested On the Besseggen Trail in Norway

A perfect place and perfect time for testing the Rise energy food bars.

A boxful of Rise energy foods got me through two of my big days in a recent trip to Norway. It was only my second experience with the Rise energy bar – the first was the time I found one of its “Crunchy Carob Chip” bars at a local bike shop. I am a sucker for carob (the pudgy 12-year-old me used to love carob ice cream from Haagen-Dazs).

The interesting thing with Rise energy foods is that they’re formulated for different purposes – breakfast bars, energy bars and protein bars. I tried to stick to the formula during my trip. Though being vegetarian, kosher and gluten-free don’t really enter my testing calculus, some of you might want to know about that. And some bars are dairy-free and vegan. I do, though, like that the Rise energy bar is minimally processed. See the Rise FAQ page for more info.

There was one particular day that really let me put the hammer down on the sampler platter of energy bars that the folks from Rise sent me for review. That was my 8-hour hike in Jotunheimen. The bars would have to fuel me through steep climbs, through snowdrifts and in pelting sleet and heavy winds.

Sarah

Burning energy on a climb on the Besseggen trail in Jotunheimen, Norway.

and I both sawed through the various flavors. What we found is that the Breakfast and Energy+ were our favorites. They had a nice moistness that made them easy to eat – and you got the feeling of eating real food. There was an unprocessed vitality to them. The Cherry almond, Crunchy perfect pomegranate and Blueberry coconut energy foods topped our list.

Flavor-wise, I had no qualms about the protein bars. A hike in Norway is bound to be cold – and Jotunheimen and its 9-mile Besseggen trail didn’t disappoint. The cold temperatures made the protein bars harden. My solution was to shove them into my gloves for about five minutes before eating. Even then, I’d gnaw off a small chunk, let it warm up in my mouth, chew, swallow and repeat. The protein bars were tasty enough when warm, and actually had a trace of moisture (unlike many protein bars).

They propelled us to the end at Memurubu, keeping the calories coming without weighing us down. That just made more room in our bellies for a post-hike pile of ham, mashed turnips and potatoes.

A few days earlier, the Rise energy bar also powered me through a 10K run in Tromsø , a city in Norway above the Arctic Circle. I ate a bar about an hour before the start. I had a nice, sustained supply of energy and no growling stomach.

We all know there’s no shortage of energy foods in the world. And I know why we have our old stand-bys. If those flavors are getting a little stale, though, be sure to check the Rise energy bar a shot.